Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga was born as Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986. Raised in New York City, Gaga explored her interest in acting and music in high school, before enrolling in New York University’s musical theater conservatory.

She dropped out of the program at 19 to focus exclusively on her career, and started the Stefani Germanotta Band in the mid-2000s. After the group disbanded, Gaga worked on a solo effort and adopted her stage name. She was signed to, and then dropped from, Def Jam in 2006, and then scored another record deal with an Interscope imprint the following year, and worked with Sony/ATV as a songwriter for top stars.

Gaga’s first album, “The Fame,” was released in 2008, and spawned the hits “Just Dance,” “PokerFace,” and “Paparazzi.” She went on to win two Grammys in 2009, and put out “The Fame Monster” later the year, delivering more hits like “Bad Romance” and “Telephone,” which led a Best Pop Vocal Album victory at the Grammys.

Gaga toured the world as one of the music industry’s most popular stars before returning with a new album, “Born This Way,” in 2011, featuring the self-titled single, as well as “You and I,” and “The Edge of Glory.” Two years later, Gaga released “ARTPOP,” which became her least successful effort to date. The star was sidelined in 2013 with a major hip injury, and blamed both her career and health woes on her then-management.

In 2014, Gaga released a jazz album with Tony Bennett, which was critically-acclaimed and scored a 2015 Grammy nomination. In addition to music, Gaga has appeared in the movies “Machete Kills” and “Sin City: A Dame To Kill For,” and launched fragrances and other assorted products. Well-known for her elaborate stage costumes, Gaga is also an outspoken LGBT activist, and formed with her mother the Born This Way Foundation, which focuses on youth empowerment.

Gaga has been in a relationship with actor Taylor Kinney since 2011, after they met on the set of her “You & I” music video.